Fallout
by Ani-maniac494
Summary: The press conference was over, Tony had declared himself to be Iron Man, and Pepper…Pepper was just trying to figure out how she was going to deal with it all. Movieverse. Hints of Tony/Pepper. Set immediately post IM1. One-Shot.


Spoilers: Major spoilers for the first Iron Man movie.

Disclaimer: Tony and Pepper aren't mine, but I'm borrowing them both anyway.

A/N: This fic has been floating around in my mind since I originally saw the first Iron Man movie, and I was finally inspired to complete it. I know it's been done before, but hopefully my take is a little different. Any similarities between this fic and others with the same theme are completely unintentional. :)

As always, I thank my Lord Jesus Christ for his incredible mercy and grace, and his many blessings.

I hope you enjoy it, and please let me know what you think!

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**Fallout**

Pepper sat in a little-used alcove of the Stark Industries building, her head in her hands, her fingers rubbing at her temples as she tried to fight off the rapidly building migraine. But, try as she might, she couldn't take her eyes off the phone sitting in her lap, and the insistent little numbers on the screen that told her just how many messages were waiting for her.

_601..._

_603..._

_607..._

They showed no signs of stopping.

They just kept going up and up and _up_, and she seriously considered throwing her phone out the window because it would be oh-so-gratifying to see it on the sidewalk below in _itty-bitty_ pieces.

She resisted only because it wouldn't solve anything. It wouldn't change what had happened in the press conference fifteen minutes ago.

_I am Iron Man_.

He'd actually said that. He'd actually told the entire _world_ that he had invented _a flying metal suit, _and that he'd started running around in that suit like some kind of _superhero…_

"Pepper?"

She finally managed to wrench her gaze away from her phone to find Tony standing in the doorway of the alcove, watching her warily. For a second, she wished that she could throw _him_ out the window instead of her phone, and some of it must have shown on her face because he actually backed up half a step.

"You're mad at me, aren't you?"

She glared at him. "No, Tony. I'm not mad at you. I'm _furious _with you!"

She snatched the phone from her lap and stood up, flinging the phone onto the abandoned chair, where it bounced, and landed on the floor. She ignored it and stalked forward, full of righteous indignation at the sheer stupidity he'd shown.

Unfortunately, the closer she got to Tony, the easier it was to see the bruises hidden beneath the makeup she'd applied just before the press conference…injuries he'd gotten trying to protect her from Obadiah.

Angry tears prickled in her eyes. He'd almost died. _Again_. She'd almost lost him for the second time, and now he'd gone and painted a giant target on his back. _Voluntaril_y.

"Why, Tony? Just tell me why. Why did you think pulling a stunt like that was _a good idea_?!"

Tony's eyes widened at the demand before he shoved his hands into his pockets, and rocked back on his heels, his mouth twisted in a grimace. Normally, that kind of reaction would have been enough to get her to back off, but this time, Pepper just stood there, chest heaving, fists clenched at her sides, waiting for an answer. And she was going to get one. A serious answer, not the glib retorts he'd tossed off at the press conference.

Tony seemed to realize that, because his gaze dropped and his shoulders slumped; he stared at the carpet for a long moment, and one hand started rubbing at the back of his neck.

Finally, he sighed and looked up again.

"I guess I did it because…because I've done a lot of things that I'm not proud of. Some of it you know…"

One of her eyebrows arched up sharply.

"Okay, so you know about most of it," he conceded. "The point is, for once, I did something I _am_ proud of, and I guess, I just…I didn't want to hide that." He gave a small shrug. "I helped people. I really helped people. It doesn't make up for everything else, and I know that, but maybe it's a start."

Pepper stared at him, honestly stunned. She opened her mouth to say something, possibly to yell at him again, but no sound came out. She liked to think that she knew Tony better than just about anyone else, and she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that he meant every word of what he'd just said.

She wasn't sure what she'd been expecting, but it hadn't been this…this _sincerity_, this…well, if it were anyone else, she would have called it humility. Tony wasn't humble. He was brash and outrageous, and he sometimes made her job difficult just because he could.

But, right now, Tony was watching her with dark eyes that were a little sad, like he was waiting to be condemned, and as furious as she still was - and she was, she most definitely was - she just…couldn't bring herself to berate him anymore.

It was such a perfectly _Tony _thing to do - to take the wind right out of her sails without even trying - that she had to shake her head. She reached a hand up to massage her temple again, even if it was pretty much useless. That headache wasn't going away anytime soon.

She sighed, letting her hand drop. "I understand, Tony," she said finally.

He blinked. "You do?"

"Yes, I do. I just wish you hadn't decided to tell the _whole world_."

His lips quirked faintly. "Well, what can I say? Go big or go home."

She groaned, and let her gaze wander around the room until she found her discarded cell phone. It was laying upside down on the carpet, so she couldn't see the screen, but she knew what was waiting for her there. Messages. _Lots_ of messages.

She glared at him again, though the expression had less heat than it had before. "Do you have any idea how long it will take to handle the fallout from this? Years, Tony! Years!"

"Hey, if anyone can do it, you can." He flashed a grin. "Besides, if you ask me, it'll actually make your job easier."

Her eyebrows met her hairline. "Easier? _How_, exactly?"

"Think of all the excuses you have now!" He mimed a phone to his ear. "'I'm sorry, Mr. Stark is currently battling an evil villain bent on world domination. We'll have to reschedule.' See? Easy."

Pepper rolled her eyes, but almost against her will, she found herself smiling a small, exasperated smile.

This wasn't over…chances were, it wouldn't be over for a long, long time.

But maybe, just maybe, like Tony had said…it was a start.

**Fin**

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A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please let me know what you think!

Take care and God bless!

Ani-maniac494 :)


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